A Microcosm of the effort many are involved in to
honor the sacred in Nature, and attempt to save what we can of the
remaining natural treasures of our endangered Home Planet.

We recently took part in a local effort to save
one of our neighborhood’s living treasures. On October 13, 2002 a
rally was held in Santa Monica, California, where we live, at the
location of what is possibly the oldest and largest tree in Santa
Monica. The purpose of the rally was to gain attention to the
imminent threat by land developers to sacrifice the life of this
historic tree for a potential development project. Also, to
inspire the city’s Landmark Commission, which was to meet the
following day to vote on the fate of the tree, and to possibly
begin a Landmarking process that would ultimately qualify the tree
as an Historic Landmark, thereby protecting it from being
destroyed.

The tree, a Cedrus Deodara, or “God’s Own
Cedar”, is approximately one hundred years old, with an
expected lifespan of several hundred years more, and is one of the
most remarkable natural treasures of the area. The owner of the
land it is located on had passed away, and the land was put up for
sale by the church that she had willed the land to, which she
thought would honor her wishes and protect the tree from land
developers. The church subsequently decided to sell the property,
thus putting the tree’s fate in the hands of whatever the new
landowners decided to do with the land it was on. Rampant
development of the neighborhood, rising property values, and a
recent history of disregard for the city’s remaining historic
sites by city planners, meant that it was very likely a new owner
could choose to remove the tree in favor of a more profitable use
of the land, not recognizing the great value of the tree itself.
The family that had lived there for many decades had always
protected this tree and feared for its fate if it should fall into
uncaring hands. The daughter of the original land owner, Greyling
Gentry, organized the rally at this critical time, out of her love
of the venerable tree, and gained the attention of local
newspapers, television, and radio. We have long admired and been
inspired by the great beauty of this tree, seeing it almost on a
daily basis, and when we heard of the jeopardy it might be in we
also joined in the effort to help save it; for the sake of the
tree itself, and also for the living symbol of the endangered
natural environment of Mother Earth that it embodies.

As a result of the publicity the rally generated, and the great
response from many involved groups, including The Sierra Club; The
Tree People; environmental activists from as far away as Seattle,
Washington who answered the clarion cry; and the people of Santa
Monica including the city’s Mayor, Kevin McKeown, the Landmark
Commission voted on October 14, the day following the rally, to
nominate the tree for consideration to qualify it as an Historic
Landmark. A preliminary decision to look into the matter further
was made in a following meeting on November 11, but a final
decision to determine the future of the tree will be made on
December 9. Hopefully then the efforts of all those who rallied to
save this majestic tree will prevail, and it will be finally voted
into the protected Landmark status it needs to survive. We will
update this report with the outcome of that meeting.